The present invention relates to conditioning of tobacco in general, and more particularly to improvements in a method of changing the moisture content of tobacco. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in a method of conditioning tobacco by contact with a gaseous conditioning medium, preferably air.
It is customary to increase the moisture content of tobacco prior to certain treatments to which the tobacco is subjected preparatory to introduction into a machine for the making of cigars, cigarillos or cigarettes. The increased moisture content is desirable in order to enhance the suppleness or pliability of tobacco and to reduce the likelihood of generation of tobacco dust and/or excessive fragmentizing of tobacco. It is also customary to mix tobacco with a suitable casing which is added to improve the aroma and/or other characteristics of the filler in a rod-shaped smokers' product or the characteristics of pipe tobacco. The excess of moisture must be withdrawn from tobacco prior to conversion into fillers of cigarettes, cigars or the like or prior to introduction of pipe tobacco into bags, boxes or other receptacles. For example, the moisture content of tobacco shreds which are to be introduced into a modern high-speed cigarette making machine must be maintained within an extremely narrow range. As a rule, the actual moisture content should not deviate from a desirable optimum moisture content by more than a small fraction of one percent. Thus, the conditioning of tobacco prior to introduction into a consuming machine must be carried out with great care in order to insure that the actual moisture content will be the same as the optimum moisture content for further processing.